Brothers
by ShadowAndChaos
Summary: AU. Iblis is the prince of Soleanna until his adopted brother's emerald backfires. My summaries still suck
1. Chapter 1

An orange weasel stood on the balcony, looking out over his many admirers. He smirked, hearing them yell his name.

His voice rang out above the crowd's silencing them.

His fingers twirled a ribbon around that hung from his clothing. The blue, silk-like cloth folded in several places among his body, then ended at his knees. He wore a pair of pants that were the same color as the clothing on his upper body.

One thing that really stood out among the weasel was the golden crown that signified that he was the prince.

The prince of Soleanna.

As the prince made promises to the people that would probably turn out to be fake, a gray and teal striped hedgehog stood behind the curtain that hung in the doorway of the balcony.

He wore less royal looking clothing, some parts of it being ripped and faded.

He wasn't a prince, having not been biologically born to Solaris, the queen.

Instead he was adopted into the family.

The orange weasel was the one that had begged for him to stay with the family when he had been younger. He had found him rummaging through the garbage outside of the royal family's house and had prevented his mother from throwing him into the dungeon.

From the way that the weasel acted towards the hedgehog now, you wouldn't be able to even remotely guess that he had wanted the other to stay. He frequently stole things from the hedgehog.

This included a few things that the hedgehog had hung onto to remember his real family.

Like a pure green diamond shaped gem that his father had given him.

The orange weasel had pilfered it when the hedgehog was sleeping; hiding it within a set of clothes he hardly wore so if he was ever suspected of stealing it, it wouldn't be found.

The hedgehog had freaked when he discovered it wasn't in his quills the next morning but never told anyone.

The queen had wondered why the other had been pacing around the house, always looking under the furniture.

As the weasel's speech came to an end, the hedgehog began to walk down the stairs of the balcony so he wouldn't be seen by the weasel.

However he felt a pair of hands stop him in his tracks.

"I told you not to come, didn't I?" The weasel growled.

The hedgehog's green eyes wondered to the step he was standing on. "Why can't I watch my brother at his speech?" He said under his breath.

The weasel laughed. "Brother? You know as well as I do that you're an outcast to this family, the royal 'flame' color doesn't come anywhere close to your pathetic gray color."

He said, pulling out a bit of the other's fur with his fingers. "And the clump of quills you threaten everything with doesn't either. We have claws to protect us, not wimpy little spikes."

The hedgehog blinked, biting his lip a bit. "…Then why did you prevent me from being thrown in the dungeon?" He asked, glaring a bit at the other.

The weasel chuckled. "I wasn't aware of my royal heritage back then. Believe me, I'm actually thinking of seeing if _my _mother would throw you into the dungeon to rot."

The hedgehog's eyes widened then turned into a glare. "You wouldn't…You're bluffing." He growled, feeling his quills rise a bit.

The weasel laughed. "I only lie when I make promises to those peasants." He said, pushing the other a bit.

The hedgehog's eyes widened, losing his balance on the step. He nearly tumbled down the stairs before the weasel's grip kept him from making the first impact with the stairs.

He turned his head a bit, blinking.

Then the weasel let go of his shoulder, letting the other tumble. The hedgehog had curled up a bit, not sustaining any serious injuries from the fall. A few of his quills were bent and broken by the time he reached the bottom of the stairs.

He looked back up at his 'brother', blinking.

The weasel was walking calmly down the stairs.

The gray one stood up, running off into the doorway that was at the base of the stairs. He ran through a corridor, reaching a large and nearly empty room. The marble columns forming a circle supported the roof that covered the room.

He panted a bit from running but ran across the room into a smaller hall. He sighed, going into a small room that acted as his own room in the family.

This was more or less a closet in terms of size.

He closed the door, sighing again.

"Iblis…what happened to you…?" He muttered, looking at the floor.


	2. Chapter 2

The following hours after the prince had made his speech, the royal family was preparing for their dinner out.

Iblis stood in front of a full body mirror, fixing his tie. He heard his mother call for him as he brought a dark blue tuxedo over the white shirt and tie.

He smiled, running out of his room. He passed a few of the robots that his mother had bought to help out around the oversized mansion. He noticed one that seemed to stare at him. It was blue and had piercing red 'eyes' in the middle of the black lens on both sides.

It moved its gaze from the weasel to the floor, beginning to mop the floor where a pile of dirt had been dumped.

Iblis stopped, seeing one of the expensive vases smashed.

Along with a gray hedgehog who was picking up pieces from the floor.

He blinked then growled. "What did you do, Runt?" He grabbed the other by his quills. The hedgehog winced but blinked. "It was an accident!" He said in a low voice. "Accident, huh? Let's see what mom will think of that! That was one of her favorite vases!"

The robot stopped sweeping, swiftly walking across the hall and down some stairs, still holding the broom in his robotic appendages.

"Iblis, please don't tell! It's my last strike!" The hedgehog said a little louder, fearing the other would tell the queen. Iblis smirked, walking off.

The hedgehog bolted after him, tackling him to the ground. Iblis's eyes widened. "get off of me, you rat!" He said, rolling onto his back so the other would be beneath him. The hedgehog squirmed under Iblis but bit into the weasel's shoulder, tearing the tuxedo.

Iblis grit his teeth at the other sinking his teeth into his shoulder deep enough to draw blood. He growled, grabbing a handful of the other's quills and slamming the hedgehog's head into the floor. He felt the teeth let go of his flesh.

He stood up, grabbing his shoulder where the blood was seeping out of the bite wound. The hedgehog got up and held his head. Iblis's eyes darkened a bit as he set his foot on the other's chest and forcing the gray one to lay down.

Both of them heard a bit of a scream, their heads turning to see a older looking female weasel standing next to a blue robot. Iblis blinked, moving his foot off of the hedgehog's chest.

"Why in the world do you have Mephiles pinned to the floor?" The older weasel asked in a surprised voice. Her ears twitching a bit.

Iblis mentally chuckled. He pretended to wince, rubbing his shoulder. "He just came out and attacked me! Bit me right on the shoulder!" He said. "I had to defend myself!" He added, gritting his teeth.

The female walked over, moving Iblis's hand off his shoulder. She gasped at the bit mark and the fresh blood seeping from the wound.

The robot tilted his head. Was it malfunctioning…? Surely that's not what happened…?

It gazed at the hedgehog who was staring wide eyed at Iblis.

"Sola-" "Silence, Mephiles! This was your last strike! Metal, throw him into the dungeon!" The female shouted, a little more than upset that the hedgehog had actually bit her 'baby.'

The robot looked at her then grabbed Mephiles's arm after Iblis took his foot off his chest.

It pulled the hedgehog up to his feet, looking back at his queen before tugging Mephiles off to the dungeon.

Mephiles was silent, not refusing to go along with the robot. He gazed back at Iblis who was walking off with the queen so he could get his shoulder bandaged and a new tux.

The robot and the hedgehog walked down stairs and a few more hallways before coming to a block of cells. The hedgehog gazed into one of the cells, seeing a purple weasel. He blinked then the robot pushed him into a cell.

Mephiles sat down on the solid concrete floor of the cell, not bothering to move to one of the piles of hay that was placed into each of the cells.

The robot hit a button and the cell door closed, glowing a bright red before dimming which meant that it was locked and could only be opened with a code.

The blue robot took one last look at the gray and teal hedgehog then left the dungeon.

Mephiles sighed, resting his head against the wall of the cell. He closed his eyes. After a little bit, he heard a voice but immediately dismissed it to be his overactive imagination turning into insanity.

After a few more times of hearing the voice he opened his eyes. He glanced into the cell that was across from his and blinked. A yellow fox was grabbing the cell bars and wagging his tail.

Upon further inspection, Mephiles realized that the fox had two tails. He blinked. "Were you talking to me?" He asked, his voice a bit low.

The fox nodded, blinking. "Aren't you the adopted son of the queen?" He asked. "Why are you in the dungeon?" He twitched his ears.

Mephiles blinked then sighed. "I bit my _brother_…" He said, growling a bit.

Now that he mentioned it, he could taste his brother's blood on his tongue.

The fox blinked. "About time someone punished that spoiled brat, he's the one that got me thrown in here!" Another voice said. The fox looked out to the end of the hall, smiling. Mephiles blinked.

"I still think of him as my brother, guys…" He muttered. "You can't be serious!" The third person said. The gray hedgehog heard the hay shifting against the floor. "He ain't gonna come down here and bail you out, kid." The third person spoke.

Mephiles sighed. "He's the reason I wasn't thrown in here ten years ago…" "Well I don't believe that." The fox said, leaning against the barred door.

Mephiles sighed again, closing his eyes. "It doesn't matter…now I'm in here to rot…" He said.


	3. Chapter 3

Iblis sat in a chair, watching his mother wrapping the bite wound on his shoulder. He grit his teeth when the female weasel set her hand over the bandages to hold it there while she tied the ends together.

"Now get a new tuxedo from that closet and after dinner I'll get one of the robots to fix this one that you're wearing now." The queen said, walking out of the room.

Iblis sighed, and then smirked. "Finally, I got him out!" He mentally cheered.

He walked over to the closet his mom had said to look through for a tux, opening the door. He rummaged through the suits that hung on clothes hangers, looking for one that was at least similar to the ones he preferred.

He saw one that was blue then started to remove the tux that he was wearing. The orange weasel's fur was a bit messy from him taking it off.

He proceeded to dress himself in the blue tux he found, walking over to the full body mirror to make sure he tied the tie right when he needed to.

He noticed a blue robot standing in the doorway of the room.

His cheeks went a bit pink. "Did you just watch me undress?" He growled.

The robot that his mother called Metal tilted his head. "Were you sick earlier…?" The robot asked. Iblis blinked.

"No I wasn't. Why do you ask?" He confirmed, turning to look at the robot.

"You threatened to get your mother to throw Mephiles in the dungeon…that's why he attacked. You said that he just plain attacked you…He had a reason…"

The robot walked a bit closer to Iblis.

"You heard wrong, slave." Iblis growled, turning back to the mirror to finish tying his tie.

He twitched his ears.

"My technology is the best, I do not mishear." The robot stated.

Iblis sighed. "You can't do anything about it, even if you were right. So why are you trying to prove it." He said.

The robot stayed silent, and then walked out of the room, leaving Iblis to get dressed.

Iblis sighed. "Cursed robot…" He thought. "Surely my mom would never believe that slave…" He added in his mind.

He heard his mom call for him, asking if he was ready to come down to the dinner yet.

He responded with a 'yes' walking out of the room and past the robot. He felt it watch him walk down the hall. He sighed and hurried down the stairs so he wasn't late to the dinner, which would result in the queen getting upset.

As to be somewhat cruel, whoever had built the royal mansion had placed the kitchen right above the dungeon.

All of the prisoners were able to smell whatever was being cooked in the kitchen.

Considering the prisoners only got stale bread and water, it was a suitable form of punishment.

Mephiles sighed, lying back in the hay. He heard the fox groan. "Why do they get all the good food?" The fox said.

The gray hedgehog chuckled. "We're prisoners…what did you expect, the royal treatment?"

"Well no but still…" The fox trailed off.

Mephiles sighed again, closing his eyes and trying to ignore the smells coming from the kitchen.

"…Did your mom happen to ever tell you the key?" The fox suddenly asked.

"…She only told Iblis." Mephiles said, sitting up. He saw the other get disappointed. "And if we try to guess it, they'll probably know and they'll send some robot down to punish us more…" He added. "Usually they cut off fingers from what Iblis said…"

The fox widened his eyes a bit.


	4. Chapter 4

Iblis finished up the dessert he had been given while the others ate appetizers. He had only wanted the dessert while the other royals and guests that the queen had invited had real food.

He wiped his mouth, trying to show that he actually had manners.

One of the guests started to speak after finishing their food. "So…has anyone happened to hear of the Chaos Emeralds?" The blue hedgehog started.

Iblis blinked. He shook his head as the rest did. The blue hedgehog seemed to grin but kept his straight face. "Some say they're magical gems that can grant your every wish., especially those for power. They are said to be shaped like diamonds and resemble some kind of rainbow type color scheme. There are supposed to be seven…when you get all seven of them, your every dream will come true." The hedgehog said.

The room was silent for a bit before the queen spoke. "Nonsense, there's no power in the universe like that." She said.

Iblis was thinking about what the hedgehog had said. "Diamond shaped…"

"I never said they were real…" The hedgehog said, chuckling.

"Sonic if you keep bringing up these ignorant fairy tales at these dinners then I will prohibit you from coming to our dinners." The queen stated.

Iblis looked up to see and hear Sonic laughing. He blinked. "May I be excused?" He said suddenly.

Everyone blinked before his mother answered with a 'yes.'

Iblis stood, running off to his room. He rummaged through his clothing, looking for the ugly clothes he had hid the gem in.

He found the gray suit, reaching in the pocket of the set of clothing.

He pulled out the green diamond shaped gem, blinking. "If this can grant wishes…and that blue hedgehog said that it could especially enhance power ones…" He trailed off in thought.

He muttered something under his breath.

He felt a tingly feeling then his vision failed. He panicked a bit before blacking out completely.

As the dinner above the dungeon continued, Mephiles and the others were thinking about how to escape without being caught and punished.

Mephiles's stomach growled, distracting him. He glanced at the fox, seeing him a bit thinner than he was.

Since he had only been throw in the dungeon about 30 minutes ago, he wasn't as undernourished.

A sudden blast from somewhere above the dungeon caught the prisoner's attention. They all blinked, staying silent to see if they could hear anything.

After hearing nothing but silence they all blinked. "Wonder what that could have been…" Mephiles said, more to himself than the other prisoners.

The fox shrugged.

They heard someone running down into the dungeon. They blinked, watching a blue hedgehog run into the cell filled room.

"Sonic!" The yellow fox suddenly yelled out.

The hedgehog smiled. "Hey buddy!" He said, looking at the fox then to the gray and teal hedgehog. Mephiles blinked, twitching his ears.

"Mephiles, right?" Sonic guessed, gazing at the keypad next to the cell door of the fox.

"Yeah...what happened upstairs?" Mephiles asked, wondering for a second how the other knew his name but quickly dismissed it.

"I'm actually not sure…Everyone had run off to see what it was so I took this chance to release Tails and then I happen to find the adopted son in the dungeon…" Sonic teased.

Mephiles sighed then widened his eyes seeing the blue hedgehog punch in a code. After a second the doors glowed red and opened.

He blinked, twitching his ears as the hedgehog went over to the keypad beside his own cell. He heard the other tap in the same code, the door opening after a second.

"…Thanks…" Mephiles said, smiling.

Mephiles stood up as the blue one glanced in the other cells. The hedgehog came back to him and the fox, sighing. "If you go back to that royal family, they'll just throw you back in here." Sonic stated. "So come with us." He said, smiling.

Mephiles blinked. One of the things that went through his mind under the category he called 'I would miss' was his _brother_ Iblis.

He thought for a second. Would Iblis miss him?

The blue one pulled him out of his thoughts. "Make up your mind fast or I will make it up for you." He said, sounding anxious.

Mephiles blinked then nodded. "Please take me with you." He said, smiling.

The blue one grabbed his arm along with the fox's, actually bolting out of the dungeon.

Mephiles's eyes widened and he felt sick to his stomach from the sudden change in speed. The fox seemed to be used to the speed the hedgehog was going, as he was smiling and even letting his tongue hang out in the air rushing by.

They sped through the halls, then up the flight of stairs. Sonic stopped dead at the top. He saw a familiar crowd running away from where they had first heard the blast. The queen noticed the three standing at the top of the stairs but ran right past them, not caring enough to find out what was going on with the prisoners.

Sonic blinked as Mephiles and Tails looked over to the direction the royalty was running from.

They saw the edges of the doorway give way to flames. They moved way from the door before seeing a silhouette in the fire.

Mephiles blinked. "Who's that?" He asked, staring at the flames. Sonic blinked but grabbed the hedgehog and the fox's arms. "I'd rather not find out if they're still standing in that fire and not ashes."

Sonic ran out of the room, bringing the two with him.


	5. Chapter 5

Mephiles sat against the base of a tree, looking out over the field that was located right in the backyard of the royal mansion that the gray hedgehog was lucky to call his home.

He thought of how he was technically that orange weasel's brother now. He smiled a bit, glad to actually have a family again.

He pulled a green gem out of the clump of quills that made up his 'hair'. He stared at it, blinking. He'd never forget his real parents.

He heard someone walking over to the tree. He quickly hid the gem back in his quills, turning to see who was outside with him.

He saw the same orange weasel that was son of the queen and smiled.

"So…What's your name, hedgehog?" The weasel asked, smiling. Mephiles blinked. "My name is Mephiles…You're Iblis right?" He responded. The weasel nodded, sitting next to the gray one.

"…Why were you going through our garbage?" Iblis asked, laughing a bit. Mephiles blinked. "Uhm…I was looking for things to sell…and…stuff like that…" He said, turning a bit red in the cheeks. He looked at the grassy ground, blinking.

Iblis laughed a bit. "You know we can get stuff for you now, right? 'Cause it's bad to steal…Even if you do need to." He said, lying back against the tree.

Mephiles nodded. "I know."

Iblis smiled. "Good. If you need anything, we won't bite ya." He teased, closing his eyes.

Mephiles blinked. He thought for a bit then rested against the tree too. He shifted a bit then managed to wrap his arms around the weasel.

The weasel opened his eyes, widening them a bit at the other hugging him.

He blinked then smiled, hugging the other back. "Brothers?" Mephiles suddenly said. Iblis blinked but kept his smile. "Brothers." He responded.

Around a second later Mephiles snapped back to the reality of the blue hedgehog running across the land with him and the fox in tow.

He sighed.

A bit of rubble moved then shifted off of a mass. The mass shook a bit, getting any small bits of debris that happened to be on his back.

He blinked, sitting up on red legs. He looked around, seeing the devastated room that he guessed to be the kitchen from how it was shaped. He stood, looking at the ground around him.

Then froze.

His red fur at the knees and ankles had brown masses of what seemed to be rock. He widened his eyes a bit, picking at the brown rock, finding a similar pattern of the rocks on his arms. He blinked a bit, running out of the room. He looked around until he found a shattered piece of what he expected to be his mirror.

He picked it up, angling it so he could see his own face in the reflection.

His eyes widened seeing his face have a large rock right in the center, with his usually orange fur replaced with fire colored fur, with the exception of his muzzle and the center of his face. He blinked, not believing this was happening.

He turned the mirror a bit then dropped it.

He looked down, seeing most of his chest covered with the rocks, except for a bit of orange fur that poked out from in between the rock.

He shook a bit, looking around. "If the mansion had caught on fire…then everyone must be outside…" He thought, starting out of the room then running through the mansion until he made it to the front door. He blinked seeing it closed and intact. He opened it, stepping outside.

He saw the group of royals standing in a crowd, facing away from the house. He felt relief. "Mom!" He yelled, catching the group's attention.

They all stared at him, seeming scared. He could see his mother backing away. The rest of the group started to run. "Why are you guys running away? It's me, Iblis!" The now red and rocky weasel yelled.

"There's no way that you are even of the royal blood you freak!" He heard his mother yell.

He blinked then ran up to the older weasel. The queen backed up a bit, looking back to see the group standing at the gate of the mansion. She looked back at the other who was claiming to be her son.

She saw the grass around his tail catching on fire, noticing the tail of the other supported a flame that surrounded the tip of it. She widened her eyes, beginning to run like the others did.

Iblis widened his eyes, the green of them darkening for a second. He bolted after the other weasel, unaware of the trail of fire following him as he ran.

The queen tripped on something, falling onto her stomach.

Iblis stopped at her side. He blinked, grabbing her arm to help her up.

He didn't expect a set of claws to dig into the side of his muzzle. He yelped a bit, letting go of his mother's arm to see a bit of blood caking the claws of the opposite arm of the queen.

He widened his eyes; feeling liquid trailing down his muzzle where the female had sank her nails into flesh.

He started tearing up a bit, seeing the female standing and beginning to run again.

He stood still, watching her run. "Mom…" He muttered, looking back at the house. He noticed the fire that trailed behind him. He blinked, moving his tail a bit and seeing the fire on it. He twitched it, not feeling the fire burn him as he expected.

He sighed and looked back at the gate, seeing that the group had vanished.

He looked at the ground, rubbing the claw marks a bit.


	6. Chapter 6

Iblis walked among the remains of the burned mansion, blinking at the damage. He thought for a minute, rubbing his muzzle a bit.

After a bit of wandering around the rubble he started walking off of the royal family's property.

He stopped in a meadow type area, looking at the sky and the clouds that were forming.

He felt a drop of rain and blinked. He looked at this tail then walked over under a tree. He waited for the rain to really start pouring down. The rain pooled in puddles in shallow holes among the meadow.

He blinked then moved his tail into one of the shallow puddles.

The flame hissed as the water made contact with it. It died out in less than a minute.

The weasel smiled, moving his tail out of the water. He chuckled. "Less of a mon-"

The fire on his tail came back to life, a bit brighter than we he first dunked it in the puddle.

His smile faded. He stuck his tail in the water again, getting the same result as he did last time. He let it stay there for a longer bit of time before moving it.

After a few seconds the flame came back. Iblis sighed.

Mephiles and the other two found shelter underneath of a bridge that was no longer used because the town had redirected the stream that used to run under it to somewhere else.

He blinked a bit, looking at the ground. He thought for a bit, realizing that he hadn't seen the orange weasel he called his 'brother' running out with the rest of the royal group.

He thought for a bit, making up different possibilities to what could've happened to the prince.

One was a situation where the prince hadn't made it out. It was quickly dismissed because even though the weasel was technically a spoiled brat, Iblis would know what to do in a fire.

Another was where Iblis had caused the fire that had ruined the mansion. He dismissed that because Iblis was too much of a 'good boy' to actually mess up that bad.

The gray hedgehog sighed, lying down on the ground. He moved a bit so he didn't have to lie in the mud that the rain was making. He heard someone walk over to him.

"You okay?" The gray one heard the fox ask.

Mephiles sighed. "Yes. I am, just go away…" He said, closing his eyes. Tails blinked but walked back over to where Sonic was attempting to start a fire.

The gray one sighed again, still thinking about his 'brother.'

He suddenly wondered if Iblis even cared that he threw his adopted brother in the dungeon.

Iblis suddenly looked back to the direction of the mansion then stood from his spot from under the tree. He started running back to the destroyed mansion. As he neared where the mansion was located the rain started to let up a bit.

He looked over the rubble, looking for the spot he had woken up in. He found the piece of mirror then kneeled. He pushed some of the rubble away, searching for something.

Seeing a glint of green, he started digging through the rubble. Once he could, he pulled the gem out of the pile of debris.

He sighed a bit in relief at being able to find it, and then started to think about what would have happened if he hadn't been able to.

He blinked, wondering a bit of why it would've been bad to lose the green gem. Somehow his thoughts drifted from that to the gray hedgehog he had thrown into the dungeon.

Wait…If the mansion caught on fire…after he threw Mephiles in there…

Iblis blinked, getting back up on his feet. He thought of how the mansion looked when it had actually been standing and not a pile of rubble. He blinked and headed over to where he thought the base of a set of stairs would be.

He found a small hole in the rubble that had a bit of smoke coming out. He blinked then started digging through the debris that was piled on what was hopefully the stairs to the dungeon.

He made his way to a somewhat big hole that had somehow not collapsed under the debris. He blinked it touched it to see if it was fragile, and then attempted to crawl through it. He found it was bigger than him and could possibly keep its hold for a little while.

He got to the bottom of the stairs, being able to stand under the pile of debris. He saw the smoke going up through the hole. He expected to start coughing over the smoke but he didn't. He blinked, looking out down the hall that led to a row of cells.

He blinked again then yelled; "Mephiles!"

After not getting a response he felt a bit of guilt and anger both tearing at him.

. He looked into one cell, seeing a purple weasel covering his mouth. Iblis saw the other's eyes widened at the sight of him. The purple weasel coughed a bit, trying not to breathe in the smoke.

"That Mephiles kid is long gone; Sonic took him and that yellow fox out of here with them when the blast had happened." The prisoner said, coughing again.

Iblis sighed somewhat in relief from not having to see the gray hedgehog dead in the cells. Then he heard the purple weasel cough more. He blinked and turned, ready to go back up the stairs.

He made it to the first step before he stopped.

He sighed then turned back around, walking over to the cell door. The purple weasel blinked, coughing more then standing.

Iblis looked at the keyboard, putting a finger to it. He tapped in a four number code, wondering if the doors would work after the place had actually burned to the ground.

He got his answer when the door opened up.

The purple weasel blinked. Iblis scratched the fur around the claw marks on his muzzle. "Is there anyone else in here?" He asked, gesturing to the end of the dungeon. The purple one blinked. "Who cares? We need to both get out of here before we suffocate!" He growled a bit.

Iblis looked at him, blinking. "Leave them to die?" He confirmed.

The purple one nodded. "Even though I haven't seen your breathing falter once, you're bound to start having some kind of problem from the smoke!"

"I don't think the smoke is going to bother me…" Iblis said, trailing off purposely. He walked down to the next cell.

The purple weasel blinked. "What do you mean? You'll suff-"

"My _tail_ is on _fire_. I think I'll be fine." Iblis stated, peering into the cell, not seeing anyone.

The purple weasel took one look at the other's tail, giving a simple face that portrayed his thoughts at that point in time.

Iblis checked a few c ells down before turning to see the other weasel heading for the stairs. He huffed in a bit of anger and continued searching the cells, looking a bit faster.

After not seeing anyone he sighed a bit more in relief.

After all it would've technically been his fault that they were all dead. Him telling his mother they were someone that went and robbed him or things of the sort.

So if they weren't in the dungeon…where were they?

Iblis blinked, going back to the stairs.

He sighed then traveled up the stairs, seeing the purple sitting near the hole.

Iblis blinked then started walking away from the pile of rubble known as the royal mansion.

The purple weasel watched him walk away, still wondering about the other's tail.

Iblis noticed the rain had stopped, not having any liquid drip onto his head or body.

He sighed and held the green gem he had originally went back for. He tossed it once in the air, catching it as it came back down.

He kept his mind on his new body's form, not wanting to go to the thoughts of where his adoptive brother was at.


	7. Chapter 7

Mephiles walked behind Sonic and Tails on the sidewalk, looking around to make sure no one was following them.

He heard someone yell his name, turning to look.

Seeing the queen.

He widened his eyes a bit, turning back to see the other two looking back as well.

They stopped walking, standing to face the queen.

"You…" The queen started. 

Mephiles looked at the ground after seeing the rest of the royals that were in the mansion during the dinner crowding behind Solaris.

"You did something to Iblis with that bite…" She said, walking closer. Sonic pulled Mephiles back a bit. Tails blinked, twitching his tails.

"Some kind of poison or potion of some sort….to kill him or change him into….into that _thing_…He can never be accepted into the royal family anymore..."

"What?" Mephiles blinked.

"Don't play dumb! It was only after that you bit him that he started looking like that!"

Mephiles looked at the queen, widening his eyes. "Are you kidding? I don't have rabies or anything like that!" "I never said you did, you could've had a potion or something on your teeth! Don't you listen when you're about to be killed?" The queen growled.

Mephiles blinked. "You can't kill me without any proof!" He yelled, taking a step back. "Watch me." The queen said stepping forwards.

Sonic blinked then stood in front of Mephiles. "You'll have to get through me!" He growled. The queen smirked before a green hedgehog tackled Sonic to the ground.

Tails widened his eyes.

He backed up, his ears flattening a bit.

Sonic pushed the green one off of him, growling a little. "Mephiles, Tails run!"

The hedgehog and the fox ran, hearing the crowd yell.

They blinked.

Sonic fought off the crowd, looking back every-so-often to make sure the other two had run like he told them to.

Tails led Mephiles into an alley, taking the back streets of the town.

He stopped dead at the sight of a fire colored creature. Rocks covered it especially on its chest. Tails blinked, stepping back. Mephiles squinted.

The creature looked at them, widening its eyes.

"What are you?" Tails asked it, blinking. The creature blinked. He stared at Mephiles, and then looked at the ground. "Hello?" Tails urged, not wanting to get too caught up in conversation to the point where they wouldn't have enough time to get far enough away from the place where the royals had found them.

Mephiles blinked, and then thought. He looked at the rocky creature's green eyes, and then thought about what the queen had said.

"Iblis?" He took a wild guess.

The creature's eyes shot up to Mephiles's. "How is it that you figure out that when my own mother doesn't even believe me after I told her…"

"It's the way you stand, the way you look, you know, that simple stuff." Mephiles said, walking over. Iblis blinked, backing up. "Don't get near me…you must hate me anyways…" He said, looking back to the ground.

Mephiles blinked. "I never hated you…Maybe got mad at you a lot, yes but I never hated you." He said, blinking a bit more. Iblis sighed. "That's a lie." He said, flicking his fire tipped tail. Mephiles sighed. "I wouldn't be standing here talking to you if I would actually hate you." He said, stepping towards Iblis.

Iblis glared at him. "Then maybe you'll hate me after finding out that I took this from you." He growled, pulling the green emerald out. He dropped it on the ground on purpose, glaring at the hedgehog still.

Mephiles widened his eyes. "Dad's emerald!" He nearly squealed, rushing to pick it up. Iblis stepped on it so it the hedgehog couldn't. Mephiles blinked, starting to tear up.

"Iblis…You took it?" He confirmed. Iblis nodded, looking to his right and away from the gray one. He sighed.

Mephiles blinked, thinking back to the time where the weasel had helped him look for it when he first lost it.

He shook his head a bit. "It doesn't matter now that you're going to _give_ it to me, right?"

Iblis blinked. He took his foot off of the emerald, looking at the ground. Mephiles grabbed the emerald, instantly nuzzling his muzzle against it as he had done when he had it and was upset.

Iblis sighed, stepping back away from the hedgehog. He glanced at the fox to see him glaring at him.

He looked at the ground, sighing again. "If you guys hadn't escaped from the dungeon, you could've died from suffocation of the smoke that made its way down into the dungeon." He said.

Mephiles looked at him, blinking a bit.

He thought for a bit, and then twitched his ears.

"Would you have thrown me in there if you had known that ahead of time?" He asked.

Iblis widened his eyes a bit. He shook his head. "I don't think I want to be the cause of anyone's death anytime soon."

Mephiles blinked. "I would've died of…like some disease or some junk like that before I lived my full life."

Iblis blinked. In his years of planning in how to get the gray hedgehog thrown in the dungeon he had never actually thought of the consequences that would come with that. He looked at the ground, sighing.

"…I wish I had never gotten you in trouble all of those times…" He trailed off, purposely. He started walking away from Mephiles.

Mephiles blinked, standing up. He looked down at the green gem he deemed so important.

He twitched his ears at the sound of yelling.

Tails twitched his ears, getting anxious.

"We need to hide." He said, twitching his tails. He walked over to Mephiles who was staring at Iblis.

The hedgehog suddenly broke out into a run, catching up to Iblis. He stepped around the rocky weasel, forcing him to stop where he was.

Iblis glared at him. "Go away." He sighed, twitching his tail. "No." Mephiles said, smiling. He poked the rocky one's chest where the fur ran through.

Iblis twitched his rock tipped ear.

Tails rushed up to them, hearing the voices getting closer. "Mephiles we have to go _now_!" He said. Mephiles ignored him, poking the weasel more. Iblis glared at him, starting to growl. "Stop it." He said.

"You're it." Mephiles said, smirking. He pushed the other onto his rear, chuckling. Iblis grumbled, tail flicking in frustration. He got up, seeing the hedgehog start to run.

He narrowed his eyes before taking off after the gray one. "Get back here!"

Tails widened his eyes. "This is no time to be playing games…!" He growled under his breath, running off after them.

Mephiles smirked, running behind a building.

Iblis stopped at the corner of the building. "Would you mind tellin-" He cut off as he rounded the corner, seeing an aged orange weasel holding the hedgehog by the quills.

He widened his eyes a bit, blinking a few times. The other weasel was panting from running after the hedgehog. She had a gash on her forehead from where the blue hedgehog had kicked her before another similar hedgehog knocked him out.

Iblis twitched his tail.

Mephiles squirmed a bit, losing his grip on the emerald from having reached up and grabbed the queen's arm.

Solaris smiled. "Hey Iblis, I got the little trouble maker for you." She said. Mephiles widened his eyes.

Iblis blinked before stepping forwards, eyes darkening. Solaris ignored the change of shade in her son's eyes. "Maybe if he dies, you'll go back to normal." She said.

Iblis widened his eyes a bit.

He looked at the gray hedgehog then at his mother. Solaris smirked, pulling out a knife she had pilfered off of one of the royals. Mephiles turned his head a bit to see the gleam of the metal.

Iblis's eyes narrowed. He stopped a few feet away from his mother, twitching his ears.

Mephiles squirmed under the queen's hold, blinking. Solaris brought the knife over the gray hedgehog's forehead, pressing it against the skin a bit.

Iblis growled, charging at the two. Solaris blinked before the rocky weasel grabbed the knife and threw it. "Leave him alone!" Iblis growled. Solaris blinked, twitching her ears.

The rocky weasel pushed the older one onto the ground, making her let go of Mephiles's quills. Mephiles blinked, looking at the queen from where he had been released. Iblis twitched his tail, looking at Mephiles. He saw a small cut above the hedgehog's eyes but that was about it.

He sighed, looking back at his mother. The female was sitting wide-eyed and facing Iblis and Mephiles. Iblis growled. Solaris bit her lip, growling back a bit. "You want to remain in that hideous form?" She yelled. Iblis glared at her. He shook his head but helped the hedgehog to his feet. Mephiles blinked but looked around.

Iblis looked at him, blinking. He saw the other kneel and pick up the green gem before standing back up and frowning. Solaris blinked as she noticed the gem for the first time.

She shook her head a bit, standing. Iblis looked at her. Solaris started to run back the way she had came, disappearing from the two's sight quickly.

Mephiles blinked, looking at Iblis. "..Thank you." He said, smiling a bit. Iblis looked at him with a half glare. "You wouldn't have been in this situation if you hadn't provoked me." He growled. His eyes returned to their normal shade of green. Mephiles chuckled. He wrapped his arms around the rocky torso of the other.

Iblis blinked, widening his eyes a bit. "What are you doing?" He twitched his tail. "You shouldn't be hugging me! I never treated you like a brother!" He said, trying to tear himself away from the other. Mephiles chuckled.

"Yes you have just now and when you first met me!" He said. Iblis blinked, shaking his head. "Mephiles you're a fool…" He muttered, tearing up a bit. Mephiles tilted his head a bit at the other's statement but felt the other hug back somewhat tense.

He smiled. "We're brothers, right?" He stated more than asked. Iblis blinked but nodded. "Brothers…" He smiled.

The yellow fox had been watching from a distance, blinking.


	8. Chapter 8

Iblis followed Mephiles and Tails to a house that they had reached from the alley.

"…So who's house is this?" Iblis asked, spotting flowers in the window sills. He twitched his ears.

Tails turned to look at him for a second, glared, and then returned to looking at the house. "A friend's." He answered. He knocked on the door, twitching his tails.

Iblis twitched his tail, noticing the fire catch a bit of newspaper on fire. He blinked and stomped on it, trying to put it out.

He noticed the fire didn't burn his feet. He twitched his ears, thinking a bit. The door to the house opened to reveal a pink hedgehog. "Tails you're back!" She yelled.

She received a hug from the yellow fox as she looked back at the two behind him. She blinked.

"Who are they?" She asked, blinking more. "You know Iblis and this is his adopted brother; Mephiles." Tails answered.

"The same Iblis that got you thrown into that dungeon?" The female confirmed, seeing the weasel stomping on another paper he caught on fire.

"Yes. He came along with me and Mephiles after the queen kicked him out." Tails said, releasing the other from the hug.

"I can see why she threw him out…he's hideous." The hedgehog whispered to the fox. Tails laughed a bit, catching the weasel's attention. "What's so funny?" He asked. "Nothing." The fox said, stepping inside of the home. Mephiles followed while Iblis stayed standing outside.

The pink hedgehog sighed. "You might as well come in."

"…I'll burn the house down." Iblis responded, looking at his feet. The pink one widened her eyes a bit. "Is that a threat?" "No, the tip of my tail is on fire. It'll catch onto things and catch them on fire as well." Iblis answered, sitting on the ground and setting his tail behind him.

The pink one blinked then went in, leaving the weasel to sit there alone. Mephiles walked back out. "She won't let you in?" "No, my tail will catch everything on fire. I'm getting tired of explaining…" Iblis said, sighing.

Mephiles blinked. "Oh right the fire-tail-thing you have going on...um..." He trailed off, thinking about how he could prevent the other's tail from catching things on fire. He thought of the obvious. "What if you throw water on it?" "It comes back." Iblis stated. Mephiles blinked.

"How is that possible?" He asked. "You've tried?" He confirmed, looking at the pink hedgehog who had a pot of water.

Iblis glared at her when she stepped out of the house with the pot. "I swear if you dump that on me..." "It'll put the fire out...?" Iblis growled a bit. "It will _not _put the fire out. No many how many pots of water you throw on it. It always comes back and I will never be allowed to step inside another house again. Now leave me be, I'll sleep out here on the pavement." "But Solaris will attack you if she finds you and she probably will..." Mephiles said. The pink hedgehog stepped back into the house, still carrying the pot.

Iblis sighed, twitching his tail which was causing the current problem. Mephiles sat next to him. "Maybe you could stay in the basement? If they even have one..." He trailed off in thought. "For a prince?" Iblis sighed. "Ah, ah you're not a prince anymore, Iblis." Mephiles teased. "At the most you're the town monster to the royal family." He added, noticing the other twitch his ears. "Don't call me that." Iblis said, looking at the ground. Mephiles blinked. "I didn't mean it Iblis, you know that." He said. Iblis sighed. "Yes I know."

The pink hedgehog came back out with the pot and a cloth, Tail following behind her. The pink one knelt with the pot and cloth, setting them beside Iblis. Iblis stared at them for a moment then looked the pink hedgehog. "What are you going to do, give me a bath?" He asked.

Tails blinked. "Well if your tail won't stay out when you just throw the water onto it, maybe keeping it submerged will keep it out." He said, kneeling beside the pink one. "Amy here had the idea...for once." He added the last part quietly. Iblis tilted his head a bit. "I guess that makes sense..." He muttered, twitching his tail. "Now don't move your tail or you will burn Amy." Tails said, twitching his own two tails. Mephiles blinked.

Iblis kept his tail still, sighing. Amy dumped some water over the fire then as the fire died down she wrapped the wet cloth around Iblis's tail around where the fire usually stayed.

The four waited a few moments, all of them staring at the rocky weasel's tail.

After a full minute, Mephiles smiled. "Hey it works!" He said. Iblis smiled a bit. "Now you won't have to stay in the basement." He teased. Iblis rolled his eyes. He got up carefully as not to throw the cloth off of his tail. "It's going to go dry..." He stated. Tails chuckled. "Just throw more water on it when it does, it'll be fine." He stated, walking inside the house. Mephiles walked in with the pink one. Iblis followed, somewhat constantly watching his tail to make sure it didn't relight or anything like that.

He looked around the house, seeing a few pictures of the pink hedgehog, that Tails had called Amy, and the blue hedgehog, that he had seen at the royal dinner, together at various locations. He blinked.

Mephiles gazed over the photos, eyes widening at one of them. The pink hedgehog walked over to him. "You look a lot like Shadow, kid." She said, chuckling. Mephiles looked at her. "You knew my dad...?" He confirmed. Amy blinked. "He was a family friend...though I lost touch with him shortly after hi- your mom died...by the way why didn't they ever tell us about you being born? You would think that they would..." She said. Mephiles sighed.

"I wouldn't be able to answer that for them...the only way would to ask them yourself but I have no idea where Dad is and Mom ...as you know is dead." Mephiles growled. Iblis blinked, looking over at the two. "What's going on?" He asked.

Mephiles shook his head, grabbing the picture frame. Amy blinked before Mephiles slipped the photo out of the frame. He set the frame back onto the stand, walking off with the picture. Amy widened her eyes. "You can't just take that." She growled.

"It's his father." Iblis said. Amy looked at him. Mephiles blinked. He tucked the picture away in his quills before Amy could think about tearing the photo out of his hands.

"Didn't Mephiles attempt to steal from your family before? Why are you protecting him now?" "Because technically that picture is his, his father being in it and all."


	9. Chapter 9

Amy stared in disbelief at Iblis for a moment, then growled to herself. "Fine you can keep it. It was our only picture of Shadow so don't be digging through for anymore." She said to Mephiles. Mephiles blinked but nodded, stuffing the photo into his quills.

Amy shook her head, walking into the kitchen. She gazed at whatever the yellow fox had put onto the table, then dug around in the cupboards for something to eat.

Mephiles walked over to Iblis, wrapping his arms around the rocky weasel. Iblis blinked. "Thank you..." The hedgehog said, letting the other free. Iblis smiled. "It's your father, you have the right to keep it."

Mephiles nodded, smiling. He blinked then looked at Iblis. "Did you have any pictures of your dad...?" He asked, blinking. Iblis thought a bit. "I don't think I did...it doesn't matter anyways, Mom said he was a traitor to Soleanna and exiled him." Mephiles blinked. "He was a prince from some other land...eh don't remember maybe they're in the scrolls...which were burned in the fire as well I'm guessing." Iblis continued, tapping his foot against the floor a bit. "Hmm...all I know is that I was conceived before Mom and him got married...so he was never really a king or anything like that." He said with a slight blush. He shook his hand a bit. "It doesn't matter, really..." Mephiles blinked again.

"Your story is a bit more complicated than mine." He said, grinning.

Iblis shook his head. "I wouldn't say that...I was never an orphan..." He said, hesitating before saying the last bit. Mephiles looked at the ground for a bit. Iblis twitched his ears. " I shouldn't have said that, Mephiles I-" "What are you going on about now? I was thinking." Mephiles chuckled. "Don't worry about hurting my feelings I know you don't mean any harm...just thinking about what would happen if I were to see my father again...would he recognize me?" He asked more to himself than the weasel standing in front of him.

Iblis blinked. "I'm sure mine wouldn't recognize me...even if I hadn't obtained these...rocks and the fire on my tail." He said. Mephiles blinked. "Maybe if there was a way to remove the rocks...have you tried cutting them off?" Iblis snorted. "Yes find me something that can cut off rock and I'll try." Mephiles chuckled. "Just an idea."

He looked around the room they were standing in for some kind of inspiration. He blinked at seeing a sheet over a box looking structure.

He walked over to it, Iblis not far behind. Mephiles glanced at the door to the kitchen to see if anyone was watching, then peeked under the sheet. He widened his eyes a bit then took the sheet off completely so Iblis could see. It was a purple emerald in a glass container, probably with the sheet over it so no one would know that it was there just from looking at it.

Mephiles quickly put the sheet back over the box as he heard someone cough. Iblis looked over at the kitchen door then back at Mephiles. "That blue hedgehog said that those could grant your wishes..." He started. Mephiles grinned. "Maybe we can get them all and shed you of these rocks." He said, pulling the green emerald out of his quills. Iblis smiled. "Yes!" He said.

"I highly doubt they're going to let us have the emerald though...maybe we could 'borrow' it tonight?" Mephiles suggested. Iblis snorted. "You're such a thief." He said, ruffling the other's teal bangs.

Mephiles chuckled. "You should know that by now, you met me by me stealing your garbage." Iblis chuckled. "What do you suggest we do after we borrow it, they're probably going to blame us first?" Iblis asked, going over to the couch that was sitting in the middle of the room. Mephiles thought for a bit, then sighed. "Run?" He said.

"To where though, it's not like there's a nice mansion for us to run to...and I don't know many people outside of the royal family." Iblis said. Mephiles thought for a bit, then grinned.

"Silver!" "Who?" "My brother!...My real brother..." Mephiles said. "He moved away far before Mom died. I haven't seen him in a while but I still know where he lives."

Iblis blinked, twitching his ears. "How do you know he's going to let us stay with him?" "He's my brother, would you let me stay with you if I had nowhere else to go?" Mephiles asked, chuckling.

Iblis sighed, smiling. "Yes. So where does he live?" "Right outside the border of Soleanna." Mephiles said, his tail wagging a bit. "Maybe I should've went to him instead of starting a bad habit of stealing." He said, smiling sheepishly. Iblis blinked. "Did you steal when you were with us?" "Yeah...uh...you missed out on some stuff...here and there." Mephiles chuckled nervously. "Like what?" Iblis asked, blinking. Mephiles paced a bit. "It was nothing too big...a few rings here and there...some clothes which I actually never wore because I had sold them...stuff like that." Iblis blinked. "Just from me?" "No I stole from your mom too..." Mephiles chuckled a bit. Iblis chuckled. "Don't worry 'bout it." He said.

"So it's a plan?" He added. Mephiles nodded. "Tonight we take it then we run to my brother's place." He said.

Iblis smiled.

After a while the two hedgehogs, the fox, and the weasel all sat at the dinner table. Amy had cooked their meal, it being some kind of pasta with sauce.

Mephiles was sitting like a prince, not wanting to show that he was just some ragamuffin that didn't know any manners. Iblis however was relieved to not have to follow the 'royal prince' manners. His elbows rested against the table, a thing that if his mother would've seen, he'd be hit with a ruler. He sighed a bit, having finished before the others.

Amy looked at Mephiles then at Iblis. "So I'm guessing the roles are reversed now that you look like a monster?" She said. Iblis widened his eyes. "I'm just sick of having to use manners...and I do believe if I am a monster, then you should really get a person who does make up better." Iblis said, looking at the table. Amy's eye twitched. "My makeup is removable at least!" She yelled, standing. Mephiles and Tails looked at her. Amy blinked but sat back down, tail twitching. She grumbled something under her breath but none of it made any sense.

Mephiles smiled.


	10. Chapter 10

As night fell, Amy had to set up a place for the two to sleep. She sighed, digging around in a closet. Then she grinned.

Iblis was dumping the cloth that had kept his tail from relighting into the kitchen sink, making sure it was wet enough to douse the now bright flame on the tip of his tail. He quickly wrapped it around his tail, hoping the cloth itself couldn't catch on fire somehow. He smiled after finding it had put the fire out quickly.

Mephiles was asleep on the couch, having laid down after dinner to simply rest but ended up dozing off. He was still, his breath coming steadily.

Iblis made his way from the kitchen to the living room, sighing a bit. He saw Amy opening a door then flipping some switch near the door. A light streamed in from the door. He blinked. "What's down there?" He whispered, not wanting to wake the hedgehog on the couch up, knowing he'd need his rest to run later.

"The basement." Amy answered. Iblis blinked. "What do you need down there?" "Nothing, just thought it'd be a good place for you to sleep. Your tail is smothered by the damp cloth, yes, but if it relights while you're sleeping you could very well burn my house down." Amy said, twitching her tail.

Iblis blinked, but sighed. "Fine." He said, walking down the stairs into the basement. Amy followed him to pick out a good spot where the other could sleep. She found a spot beside the washer, grinning. "Here. If your tail relights then the leak that the washer has will make it go out." She said. Iblis blinked but nodded, sitting in the puddle of water that had collected near the washer.

He leaned against the stone wall, twitching his ears. Amy walked back up the stairs, turning off the light and leaving a crack in the door. Iblis sighed, looking around the basement. He saw the moonlight streaming through the windows, giving light to the washer and dryer. He sighed, closing his eyes and eventually dozing off despite the cold water soaking his fur.

_Mephiles dug through a closet, looking for some clothes. Behind him Iblis was looking at the pink blush and the cyan eye shadow the teal and gray hedgehog had carefully applied on his eyes and muzzle. He blinked a few times, turning to Mephiles who had a long pink dress._

_He glanced down at his blue outfit before looking back at Mephiles. "Where did you learn all of this...girly stuff?" He asked, raising a brow. Mephiles just smiled. "I watched my mom do her make-up when I was younger. Now put on this and we should be done."_

_Iblis sighed, removing his blue garb so he could comfortably put on the pink dress. As he put the dress on, he hoped more and more that his mother wouldn't walk in on him and the other's session of dress up._

_He fiddled with a string around his waist before Mephiles grabbed it and tied it behind his back. "Don't you look pretty!" The hedgehog beamed. Iblis blushed a bit more, the crimson blush blending with the makeup._

_"Yes I guess. Thanks." He said, blinking._

_"Aww! Metal go get the camera!" A female voice said. Iblis groaned a bit, blushing._

Iblis woke up at the feel of someone leaning against him. He grumbled a bit before seeing a teal and gray hedgehog laying against him and resting his head on his arm. He blinked before sneezing. The sudden noise and motion from it woke the hedgehog up. Mephiles blinked.

Iblis wiped his nose, finding a bit of slime on his red fur. "Ugh..." He muttered, shaking his arm a bit. Mephiles chuckled. "Getting sick, huh?" He stated more than he asked.

Iblis rolled his eyes. "I hope not...should we try to...y'know, get the emerald?" He asked, trying not to sneeze. Mephiles chuckled. "If you're ready." He said, standing up and stretching a bit. Iblis sighed. "I guess I am." He said, standing up as well. He shivered a bit then sneezed again. A bit of the same slime running down his muzzle. He growled a bit then wiped it off with his arm. Mephiles chuckled, tip-toeing up the stairs. Iblis followed.

Mephiles looked through the crack of the door before walking into the living room. The rocky weasel followed him over to the box that held the emerald.

He held in a sneeze, twitching his ears. Mephiles tore the sheet off of the box, twitching his ears. He blinked and looked around before carefully taking the emerald out of the box. Iblis sneezed after the hedgehog had gotten the emerald out. The weasel wiped his nose again, grumbling more. Mephiles chuckled then walked over to the door.

Iblis followed, sniffing a bit. Mephiles unlocked and opened the door. He waited for Iblis to go out before he relocked the door and closed it behind him as he stepped out. Iblis sniffed a bit, smiling. Mephiles chuckled. "Piece of cake!" He said.

Iblis chuckled. They started to walk away from the house, looking back a few times to see if there had been any lights turned on or anything of the same nature. They hadn't seen any after they had rounded a few corners and made it out into open street. They looked at a few signs, looking around before heading off the way Mephiles said was the right way.

They reached a forest, resting there for a bit.


	11. Chapter 11

Mephiles had fallen asleep against a tree, the rocky weasel sitting beside him. The sun was rising and it filtered through the tree leaves, casting shadows on everything that happened to be under the treetops. Iblis stared out over the bit of forest he could see from where he was positioned against the tree. He blinked a bit, not having had the time to really admire mother nature at work since he was usually in the castle most of the time doing prince things.

He sighed, closing his eyes for a second and letting his head rest against the tree. Iblis held his tail, it having relighted from the cloth drying up. The weasel couldn't just make the cloth wet again since he had noticed that it was on fire too late and the cloth was now a pile of ashes.

Mephiles stirred once the sun hit his face, groaning. He turned his head a bit subconsciously to keep the sun out of his eyes. After a bit the sun simply traveled further over, irritating the hedgehog more.

Iblis chuckled, hearing the other grumble. The hedgehog moved and buried his face into the rocky weasel's poof of fur that came out of the middle of the rocks. Iblis blinked then snorted, shaking the other's arm a bit.

Mephiles opened one eye, looking at him with an annoyed stare. "We should get moving." Iblis suggested.

Mephiles sighed and sat up. He fumbled with his quills for a second then stood. Iblis followed, making sure he kept his tail off of the grass. He sneezed then grumbled.

Mephiles chuckled. "You wake me up, you get sicker. How's that for fair?" He teased. Iblis glared at him then sighed.

Mephiles started walking off, almost leaving the other behind. Iblis ran to catch up to him, ears twitching.

After quite a bit of walking they reached a road that had a roadside stand looking thing. A guard stood in the middle of the road.

Iblis looked to Mephiles. "Is this the border?" Mephiles nodded, sighing a bit. He and Iblis walked up to the post, Iblis sneezing while they did so.

The guard took one glance at Iblis then raised his sword. "Monster!" He growled, running at the weasel. Iblis widened his eyes. "W-wait!" He yelled before the guard slammed the sword down onto his forehead. Mephiles widened his eyes. "Iblis!"

Iblis groaned a bit, the sword was dented a bit from hitting the rock on IUblis's forehead.

He sighed a bit, glaring at the guard who was shaking a bit. Before the guard could swing the sword again, Mephiles grabbed the arm the guard held the sword with. He smiled nervously. "He's not a monster, he's my brother. Besides we just want to get out of Soleanna." He said.

The guard was hesitant but he let the two through, staring at his sword and muttering something under his breath.

Iblis rubbed beside the rock on his forehead, blinking. "Man that was close." "You don't say!" Mephiles sighed. "You could've been killed!" He said. "And I would've just watched him...I didn't react fast enough..." He said. Iblis blinked. "Mephiles, don't worry about it. It's my fault for not moving out of the way." He said, ruffling the other's bangs. Mephiles looked him in the eyes then sighed. He started walking again, not responding to what Iblis had said.

Iblis blinked, running to catch up with him. After a bit of walking they made it to a house that seemed to be in the middle of a forest, with trees and many other varieties of plants that Iblis hadn't ever seen in his life. He blinked, seeing Mephiles walk up the stairs to the porch of the house.

Mephiles knocked on the door, seeing Iblis standing away from the wooden porch so he didn't catch the whole thing on fire. He heard someone yell then a white hedgehog who appeared older than Mephiles answered. He blinked a bit then widened his eyes. "Mephiles?" He confirmed. Mephiles hugged him. "Silver!" He said, tail wagging. "What are you doing here? Where's Mom and Dad?" Silver asked, smiling. Mephiles froze. "You didn't hear then..." He said. Iblis blinked. "...What happened?" "I have no idea where Dad is but Mom...Mom is gone." Mephiles said, frowning. Silver blinked then chuckled a bit nervously. "Mephiles that isn't funny..." He said, hoping it wasn't true.

After the gray and teal hedgehog was silent for a bit, the white one hugged him tighter. "I'm sorry I wasn't here for you, bro. I honestly didn't know..." Silver said, feeling guilty. "It's fine, I ended up staying with the royal family for ten years." Mephiles said, gesturing to Iblis."Iblis was my brother during that time." Iblis blinked at the white one looking at him and not reacting as anyone else had. "Really? Man that must've been nice." Silver said, smiling. "It was." Mephiles said.

Iblis kicked the dirt with his foot, feeling a bit awkward.

Silver released Mephiles from the hug, walking down off of the porch. He walked up to Iblis, smiling. "Thank you for helping taking care of my little brother." He said, seeing the other look at him.

Iblis just nodded, twitching his tail.

Silver walked back into the house, leaving the weasel and hedgehog for a second before he cam back with a small cloth. He told Iblis to stay still and tied the cloth around his tail, the fire hitting it a bit. To Iblis's surprise, the cloth didn't catch on fire and the flame on his tail was smothered. "My baby girl is a pyro. I have a lot of these for when she catches something on fire." Silver explained.

Iblis blinked, twitching his tail. "Thanks..." He said, blinking. Mephiles smiled. Silver led the two into his house, closing the door after they walked in.

A light purple cat stood by a doorway. "Who are they?" She asked, feeling a little white cat tug on her pants. She picked the cat up, blinking. Silver sighed. "This is my little brother Mephiles and this is the son of the royal family, Iblis." He said.

The cat blinked, feeling the little one in her arms tug on her hair a little bit. "I didn't know you had a brother." She said, walking into the kitchen with the little cat.

Silver chuckled. "I never told anyone, really. But guys she's my wife, Blaze and the little girl she's holding is Topaz, my daughter." Mephiles smiled.

Iblis sighed a bit, twitching his ears. Mephiles went into the kitchen to look at Topaz, Iblis not following since he believed that he would scare the child. He sighed, standing where he was. Silver blinked. "Make yourself at home, Iblis." He said, smiling.

Iblis nearly shot a glare at him but nodded. "Thanks for letting me stay here with you and your family." He said, walking off to explore the house.


	12. Chapter 12

Iblis tried to keep his distance from the little white cat, that the purple cat and the white hedgehog called their child, so he didn't end up scaring the little girl. He was sitting on the couch in the living room. He sighed, hearing Mephiles talking to Silver, the weasel's name coming up here and there in their conversation as the white hedgehog showed Mephiles around the house.

He looked around the room he was sitting in, noticing a few picture books on the floor. He recognized them as some of the books that Solaris would read to him when he was little.

He thought a bit before Mephiles and Silver walked into the room. "I have to go do some things so make yourself at home, guys." Silver said, smiling. Mephiles nodded, looking at him.

Silver walked out of the room without seeing the slight glare that Iblis was giving him. Iblis cut it out before Mephiles saw him.

"So we go to look for the emeralds and come back here after we find each one?" Mephiles started. Iblis mentally groaned at the idea but nodded. "Then after we find all of them, I don't have to wear this cloth around my tail to keep things from lighting on fire." He said, smiling a bit sheepishly.

Mephiles chuckled. "Yeah." He said. He sat next to Iblis on the couch, smiling.

Iblis sighed a bit, looking at the wall. Mephiles looked at him then looked at the door, seeing a little white cat. "Hey Topaz!" He said, getting up to walk over to the little girl. Iblis blinked, then sighed, trying not to be noticed. The little girl walked up to him, inspecting the rocks on Iblis's ankle.

Iblis looked at the little cat then sighed. "Please go away." He said, looking back to the wall. The little girl blinked and looked at Mephiles. Mephiles blinked, picking the little girl up. "You alright Iblis?" He asked.

Iblis looked at Mephiles then shook his head, sighing again. "I'm just peachy." He said dryly.

Mephiles blinked then turned towards the door and set the little girl on the floor. "Go see if Mommy has any ice cream." He told her, smiling.

Topaz smiled big then ran off.

Mephiles turned to Iblis, sighing. "What's wrong?" He asked. Iblis just shook his head. "Oh nothing." He responded, twitching his tail.

Mephiles shook his head. "Are you mad at me or...?" "Not at you specifically." "Then who...?"

Iblis hesitated. "Silver."

Mephiles widened his eyes a bit then sat next to him. "You're mad at my brother...? Why, did he do something to you?" He asked, twitching his ears.

"...He wasn't the one that helped you out when you needed it." Iblis said.

Mephiles looked at him for a second then laughed a bit. "That's what has you so upset? No he didn't help me out when Dad left but-" "How can you call him your brother if he didn't help you out?" Iblis asked, looking at the floor. "Because..."

"Because...?"

"...Well...he's my biological brother...He is my brother even if he didn't...y'know...help." Mephiles said, looking at the couch for a second.

Iblis glared at him for a second but stopped and sighed. "Still..." He said, then looked at the ceiling.

He noticed little stars along the ceiling, twitching his ear. Mephiles looked up at them and smiled. "Sorry to change the subject but Blaze had those put up there for Topaz, I bet." He said.

Iblis just sighed.

Mephiles sighed then smiled more. "No matter what, you're still my brother...so why are you so upset. Honestly I haven't seen you like this even if it was something serious." He said. Iblis looked at him before Mephiles set his head on his arm, making sure not to touch the rocks so it wouldn't be uncomfortable.

"I promise." Mephiles said.

Iblis sighed. "But what about when we can get my form back? What if my mom lets me back into the family and tries to kill you...even though she already is trying to kill you..." He said.

Mephiles chuckled. "Say no if you really care that much." He said, snuggling into the other's arm.

Iblis looked at the floor. He didn't respond.

Mephiles closed his eyes. "Tomorrow we can try and go look for an emerald, kay? And if we find one we will have one less day we'll have to spend here. Is that better?" He asked, smirking.

Iblis nodded a bit. "Yeah..."

Then, to his displeasure, a bit of dust in the air touched his nose and he sneezed.


	13. Chapter 13

Mephiles had dozed off while laying on Iblis's arm, drooling a bit on the red fur.

Iblis blinked but smiled a bit. He ran his free hand over the other's quills and removed a bit of the clumps that occasionally appeared.

Mephiles subconsciously tilted his head to the feel of Iblis's hand, tail twitching. Iblis smiled a bit more then heard footsteps.

A white hedgehog stood in the middle of the room with a little white cat in his arms. He walked over to a crib, smiling.

Iblis glared at him for a second then simply closed his eyes and rested his head against the back of the couch, moving his hand to his side.

Silver looked over at him for a second before setting Topaz in the crib. He sighed a bit then walked out of the room. Iblis opened his eyes, glaring past the walls at Silver.

He looked at Mephiles, sighing. He closed his eyes again, eventually falling asleep.

Mephiles woke up a bit later, feeling his own drool from the other's arm. He blinked then smiled sheepishly. "Sorry Iblis I-" "Don't do it..." Iblis muttered, ears twitching.

Mephiles blinked. "Do what?" He asked, noticing Iblis's eyes were closed. Iblis let out something along the lines of a whimper then muttered something. Mephiles twitched his ears, shaking Iblis's arm. "You alright?" He asked.

When the other started crying he widened his eyes. "Iblis what's wrong?" He yelled, shaking Iblis's shoulder a bit. Iblis shook his head a bit. "It's not his fault!" Iblis muttered.

Mephiles slapped Iblis, frowning a bit. Iblis's eyes opened and widened a bit. He panted a bit and looked at Mephiles. He inspected the hedgehog for a second before sighing and rubbing away the tears on his muzzle with his hand.

Mephiles blinked. "What's wrong?" He asked.

Iblis didn't respond.

Mephiles frowned. "Iblis..."

Iblis looked at him. "It was a nightmare...nothing that should concern you." He said.

Mephiles stared at him for a minute before sighing.

"Tell me..." He trailed off purposely.

No response.

"Please."

No response.

Mephiles sighed then grinned. "Fine I guess I'll have to get you to spill your beans through a different method." "Wait wha-"

Mephiles held one of Iblis's feet down, running his hand across the bottom. Iblis squirmed. "Don't you even think about it!" He said, twitching his ears.

Mephiles smiled. "You going to tell me?"

Iblis shook his head, glaring at Mephiles a bit.

Mephiles ran his fingers over the bottoms of Iblis's foot a bit more, earning a laugh.

"Pff- Stop it!" Iblis said, squirming a bit.

"Tell me!" "It's not that big of a deal!" Iblis responded, laughing a bit more.

After a few more seconds of having his feet tickled, Iblis got him to stop, promising to tell him.

Mephiles sat next to Iblis, smiling. Iblis sighed. "Well...basically Mom caught you...and y'know...killed you and made me watch so she could see me supposedly turn back into the Iblis she 'knew and loved'...Happy?" He somewhat blurted out.

Mephiles blinked before he finally soaked in what the weasel had said. "Solaris caught me and killed me...?" He confirmed. Iblis nodded, looking at the floor. He frowned a bit.

Mephiles blinked then smiled a bit. "Iblis she isn't going to get to us here. I highly doubt she'd come all this way just to kill me. Besides, I don't think she even knows where we are or what we're planning to do." He said, hugging the weasel.

Iblis bit his lip a bit, hugging the other back. "There's always a chance, Mephiles. It doesn't matter what we think she knows, she has her ways of finding things out when need be." He said, sighing. Mephiles blinked. "It's true that she may have spies everywhere since...well...she's the queen, but if we ever got in trouble I bet Silver would help us...I mean only if it's absolutely necessary since you seem to hate him."

"I don't hate him I just... never mind and yeah I know she does...and not to be off topic but when I heard from another weasel that you escaped he told me that you escaped with Sonic and that yellow fox...do you know where Sonic is?"

"I'm sure he's fine." Mephiles said, sighing. Iblis blinked but chuckled a bit.

Mephiles sighed and released the weasel from the hug. He stood, stretching a bit. "So we going to try and look for an emerald?" He suggested, smiling.

Iblis nodded but then thought a bit. "...How are we going to find another one? It's not like we have some kind of scanner for them..." He said.

Mephiles blinked then twitched his ear. "Well I think I can detect them somehow...I think it's from being so close to one. I remember Dad saying something about it before...y'know...so we could go out and just pick somewhere to look and we should find them eventually, right?"

"...Unless they're spread around the world." "I highly doubt it...Dad said a lot, okay." Mephiles said, smiling sheepishly.

Iblis chuckled. "I don't mind it now. I mean, if it helps us find the emeralds then so be it."

Mephiles chuckled. Iblis stood up, stretching as well. Mephiles walked into the hallway, looking to see if anyone was awake. He smiled a bit at not seeing anyone. He went up to the front door, waiting for Iblis. Iblis eventually followed, having made sure that Mephiles hadn't been wrong about someone being awake.

They walked out of the front door, leaving it unlocked so that they could get back in when they got back.

Iblis looked up to the sky, seeing stars and the moon. "Any idea how late it is?" He asked.

Mephiles shrugged before he started walking.

Iblis followed, occasionally checking behind him to make sure there wasn't anyone following him. Mephiles led him into the woods, making sure he kept up. Every now-and-again, Iblis sneezed but other than that, they had nothing to worry about.

Mephiles's pace slowed to a stop as he neared a clearing. He blinked, twitching his ears. "I think an emerald is near here." He said, smiling. Iblis blinked. "Really?" He asked to confirm. Mephiles nodded then pushed Iblis back a bit at the sound of a few branches snapping.

They hid behind a tree as a cloaked hedgehog walked past. Once it was out of earshot, Mephiles whispered to Iblis. "That guy has a Chaos Emerald." He said. "What do you suggest we do? Mug him?" Iblis asked a bit sarcastically.

He got a nod and a smiled from the hedgehog. He sighed but thought for a bit. "Oh yeah, great idea and if he's stronger than us?" "...Just run?"

"...Why not." Iblis said, running off after the cloaked person. Mephiles followed, smirking.

Iblis found the cloaked person walking ahead of him. He waited for Mephiles then they both tackled the cloaked person to the ground. The person instantly squirmed out from under them and grabbed their wrists before either of them could get to the emerald which was inside of the cloak's pocket.

He held them against the ground by their wrists, growling. "Now there are thieves running arou-" The person cut off.

Mephiles was staring at him. Iblis blinked. "Mephiles, please tell me that's not you." The cloaked person said, sighing. Mephiles smiled sheepishly then teared up. The cloaked person released them, pulling down his cloak to reveal his black and red quills.

"This is-" "Dad!" Mephiles cut Iblis off, hugging the other hedgehog. Iblis blinked. The black and red hedgehog hugged Mephiles back. "You're Shadow?" Iblis confirmed. Said hedgehog nodded.

Iblis thought then sighed. Shadow smiled then blinked. "You look familiar..." He said. "That's Iblis." Mephiles said, nuzzling into the other's cloak.

Shadow blinked then widened his eyes a bit. "The prince? You sure, Mephiles?" "I would know. I've been living with him and the royal family for the past 10 years." Mephiles said, chuckling.

Iblis nodded.

Shadow thought for a bit then smiled. "I would've thought you would have went to Silver first." He said. "The royal family is just as good though." Iblis blinked.

Shadow ran his fingers through Mephiles's quills, seeming deep in thought. "...Now I'm wondering why you both have Chaos energy smothering you both. Do you still have the emerald?" "Iblis does." Mephiles said, releasing his father from the hug. He twiddled his thumbs a bit. Shadow raised a brow. "Why?" "...Well we were hoping his current form could be reversed with all...seven..." Mephiles said in a low voice. Shadow blinked.

"His current form is the result of too much Chaos Energy surging through his body." He said, looking at Iblis. "You tried to use the emerald after Mephiles gave it to you?" Shadow asked, frowning a bit.

Iblis blinked then sighed. "I stole it from him first..." He admitted, looking at the ground.

Shadow growled a bit but sighed afterwards. "Only beings used to the energy could possibly handle it. You only touched it before. That allowed the energy to overpower you."


End file.
